Editor’s note: Jerry Lindsey also took the photos.
If you love “Friday Night Lights,” you would have enjoyed the opening night of football at Morrison High School on Friday, August 25, 2017. The team entered a new season with a lot of uncertainty. They would be facing an opponent that never had been on a Morrison schedule before–the Sherrard Tigers. This made for an entertaining opening night football game at Morrison High School.
The evening started with a beautiful August temperature in the mid-70’s.
Tents noticeably positioned in the north end held teachers enjoying a first-time facility tailgate. This was a welcome to the large number of new teachers and an opening night recognition of the Seniors and parents. So, the pattern of originality for Friday night had been broken prior to the opening kickoff. The game that followed also offered action somewhat unscripted, within the first two quarters.
The first quarter followed a typical, “run the ball, and feel out the opponent” game plan, until Reilly Dolan intercepted a Sherrard pass at the 2:21 mark and returned it to the end zone. A penalty brought the ball back to the 30-yard line. Eight plays later Tristan DeMay scored the first 2017 touchdown from the 3-yard line. A high snap foiled the extra point, leaving the Mustangs up 6-0, with 10:14 remaining in the quarter.
Sherrard’s offense was held to three yards on their first possession of the second quarter. They were in a fourth-down punting situation, when a high snap sent the punter back to the 10-yard line. He was smacked down by Ben Brackemyer; the Mustangs took over on downs at the 12-yard line. Following two incomplete pass attempts into the end zone, a questionable fumble by Grant Slater was recovered by Sherrard on the 4-yard line. It appeared the scoring opportunity was muffed by the Mustangs. The first Sherrard snap was fumbled into the end zone and recovered for a touchdown by Slater. Jacob Schlegel ran in the extra point, to make the score 14-0 with 7:59 remaining in the half.
Following the Mustang score, Sherrard went three-and-out and allowed the Mustangs to begin their possession, on their own 40 yard-line with 5:23 left in the half. A penalty and a high snap moved the Morrison line of scrimmage back to the 25-yard line. Dolan immediately connected with DeMay for a 52-yard pass completion. Three snaps later Aaron Deter scrambled 15 yards, to up the score to 20-0 with 3:34 remaining. The ensuing kickoff took a Morrison bounce past the Sherrard receivers and was downed on the Sherrard 9-yard line. Two snaps later, Luke Wilkens recovered a Sherrard fumble in the end zone. Brevin Pruis kicked the extra point, and the Mustangs expanded their lead, with 2:42 still remaining in the half, to 27-0.
The first half summary saw the Mustang defense holding the Tigers to 47 yards on the ground and ending five of the Tiger possessions with turnovers. This included a blocked punt by Grant Abel, interception by Dolan, and fumble recoveries for touchdowns by Slater and Wilkens.
The Sherrard inadequacies continued. The second half kickoff covered only ten yards and awarded the Mustang great field position at the 50-yard line. The opening handoff went to Slater, who turned up the left side line and out-ran the defense into the end-zone. The touchdown upped the advantage to 33-0, following a blocked extra point kick. Only 53 seconds had erased off the clock.
A high snap eluded the Sherrard quarterback on the opening snap of their next possession. That error ended in a 17-yard loss. Misery continued for the Tigers, as they punted after failing to respond to the lost yardage. Morrison took over on their own 39-yard line and allowed new team numbers to carry the ball. This decision eventually saw Brandon Zigler score from the 5-yard line; that ignited the continuous running clock at the 4:06 mark of the third quarter. Mustangs were completely in charge at 40-0.
Sherrard’s quarterback, Cole Bizarri, eventually scored on a 15-yard run with 9:45 remaining in the fourth quarter. The final score was 40-6.
The Mustangs left the field knowing they had monopolized the opportunities offered, played well on both sides of the ball, saw 12 different players carry for positive yardage, and minimized turnovers.
This made for an exciting game, that matched the changed environment engulfing the Morrison program on opening night 2017.
The Mustangs will travel to Spring Valley Hall on Friday night, September 1, for the Fresh-Soph game, beginning at 5:30 p.m., with hopes of improving to 2-0.